Controlling Lies, Painful Truths
by Brightdreamer
Summary: CH 4 is UP! AU, Frieza Saga. Vegeta has another reason to want immortality... and he's running out of time. Can Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma save him before he succumbs?
1. Truth

Title: Controlling Lies, Painful Truths  
Author: Eloy Brightdreamer  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Angst, H/C  
Summary: AU Frieza Saga. Vegeta has another reason to want immortality... and he's running out of time. Can Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma save him before he succumbs?  
Disclaimer: If I owned DBZ, I'd be a lot richer. Please don't sue me... you wouldn't get much anyway!

Setting: Frieza has not yet summoned the Ginyu Force in this version. Vegeta has gone after Krillin and Gohan, realizing that they have the last dragonball.

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Chapter 1: Truth

Vegeta touched down lightly in front of the small house on the tall, spire-like mountain. He shifted his grip on the dragonball he carried under one arm, and surveyed the scene. _They're here, I can sense them,_ he thought. As if on cue, the two earthlings exited the structure, followed by an adult Namekian.

"What do you want, Vegeta?" the bald one asked.

"Simple," he answered. "I want the last dragonball, and I want it now."

"No way!" Kakarott's son yelled. "Why should we give it to you?"

"Well, for one, because I'll kill you if you don't," Vegeta replied with a smirk.

"Just try it!" shouted the bald earthling, slipping into a fighting stance. "We're ready for ya."

Vegeta ignored him and continued, "And also because I may be your only chance of getting off this miserable planet alive."

"Don't listen to him, Krillin!" Gohan exclaimed.

Krillin lowered his arms. "Explain, Vegeta." 

"We can't hope to hide the dragonballs from Frieza forever. He will find them eventually, and after he gets his wish, he's going to destroy this whole planet just for fun. Your only chance is to wish me immortal so that I can defeat him."

"But... but... then we won't be able to wish our friends back to life!" Gohan cried.

"Who cares?" Vegeta snarled. "Even if you do, they'll be killed again anyway by Frieza. You don't understand how powerful he is!" He clenched his free hand into a fist. "None of you stand a chance!"

"You _can_ both have your wishes," the big Namekian spoke up for the first time. All three turned toward him. "There are three wishes, you know."

"Really?" Krillin exclaimed. "That's awesome!" He turned back to Vegeta. "All right, we'll let you have your wish on one condition. Never come to earth or bother any of its people again."

"Fine, whatever."

"Swear it!"

"I give my word as the prince of all Saiyans," Vegeta said solemnly. _But I'll have to make an exception for Kakarott,_ he added silently. _I still owe him one... and besides, he's not really an earthling anyway._

Krillin nodded. "Good enough. Let's go!" The three took off into the sky, leaving silvery trails behind them.

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A short while later, they arrived at the island where Bulma was hiding. "Finally!" she shrieked, running toward Krillin and Gohan. "Where have you all been?" Then she noticed Vegeta standing behind them. "Eeek! What's he doing here?"

"No time to explain," Krillin replied, grabbing the dragonball. "We'll be back later!"

"Well, of all the nerve..." Bulma grumbled, watching the three warriors disappear into the distance.

***********************

As the two earthlings followed Vegeta through the sky, Krillin motioned for Gohan to drop back a little, then flew close beside the young demi-Saiyan.

"What is it, Krillin?" Gohan asked quietly.

"I think something's wrong with Vegeta," Krillin answered in a low voice. "Have you noticed? He looks pale to me, his ki keeps fluctuating, and he's flying a lot slower than I know he can. We saw him move faster than this on earth. We could easily outdistance him at this pace."

Before Gohan could reply, Vegeta glared back at them. "I _can_ hear you, you know," he said. "And I'm just fine, thanks for asking. I'm just flying slower because I didn't think you weaklings could keep up." With that, he sped ahead, leaving the other two to catch up. But within a few minutes, he had slowed again. Krillin gave Gohan a knowing look, and received a nod in return.

Soon enough, they reached the valley in which Vegeta had hidden the other five dragonballs. As soon as they landed, Vegeta set his dragonball down and slumped against a nearby rock wall. "Summon the dragon, hurry," he commanded, breathing hard.

"Okay..." Krillin said, noticing that the Saiyan's hands were trembling. He shrugged and held his hands out over the seven golden orbs. "Eternal Dragon, come forth and grant our wishes! I summon you!"

There was dead silence for several heartbeats. Finally, Gohan spoke up. "It didn't work!"

"What?!" Vegeta roared. "What do you mean it didn't work?"

Gohan pointed up at the sky. "No dragon," he said, stating the obvious.

Vegeta lurched forward and grabbed the front of Krillin's tunic. "What did you do? You must have done something wrong, said the wrong thing..." Abruptly, he let go, sitting down on the ground and holding his head in his hands. "This can't be..." he said quietly.

"Maybe there's something we need to say, a--a password or something," Gohan proposed.

"Yeah, a password!" Krillin's face brightened at the idea. "That's gotta be it! We've just got to go ask Guru what it is!"

"Fine, let's go then," Vegeta grumbled. He started to stand up, but instead collapsed back down to the ground with a groan, falling hard on his right side. Krillin and Gohan quickly knelt beside him.

"Now, you can't tell us that you're 'just fine,' Vegeta," Krillin said, sliding his arm behind the Saiyan's back and helping him a sitting position. "I want the truth." Vegeta leaned back heavily against the supporting arm, his face contorted in an expression of pain. Krillin could feel the Saiyan's body shaking, even through the thick armor.

After a long pause, Vegeta opened his eyes and spoke. "Fine. The truth." He pulled away from Krillin, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. "I am... ill. About five years ago, I found out that I was infected with a fatal disease. Don't worry, it's not contagious," he added quickly as the other two instinctively shied away from him. "But it is incurable. Frieza has a medicine that at least puts it into remission. I have to have it every couple of weeks. Frieza only gives me enough to last each assignment. As a bonus for him, this keeps me in his service." He looked Krillin in the eye. "Now can you see why I wanted that wish so badly? Without it, I would be forever a slave to this sickness... and Frieza." A short, humorless laugh escaped him. "But now that I've defied him, it'll be a race to see what kills me first... this illness or him."

Gohan looked concerned. "How long do you have?

Vegeta shrugged. "The pain has started already. I'd say a few hours... maybe a day. This has only happened once before, when a mission I was on lasted a few days longer than it should have. Radditz and Nappa were barely able to get me back to the base. I've never been so sick... it was only for a few hours, but I thought I was going to die. The doctors said that if I had gone much longer without the antidote, I would have." He clutched at his head and moaned.

Krillin put his hand tentatively on the Saiyan's shoulder. "Okay, Vegeta, we'll help you. But we can't leave you here like this. We'll take you back to our camp and leave you with Bulma while we go get the password from Guru." Vegeta looked ready to protest, but Krillin cut him off. "No arguments! We're not going to leave you here alone while you're sick, and I don't want Gohan or I to run into Frieza or any of his henchmen on our own. Now come on!" He slung one of Vegeta's arms over his shoulder. Gohan did the same on the other side, and together they lifted the Saiyan to his feet. Krillin grabbed one of the dragonballs off the ground as well, not wanting to leave all seven together. "Ready?" the bald human asked, glancing over at Gohan.

"Ready!" They took off into the air as one, carrying Vegeta between them.

To Be Continued...

A/N: I know a lot of you are waiting anxiously for the end of "Perchance To Dream," but I've kinda been working on this one as well. Hitting a little writer's block at the moment. :) The only reason I didn't post this one earlier is I couldn't think of a good title... and I'm still not happy with this one! Feel free to post suggestions.

I'd like to see what you all think so far. Feed the review monster... it's hungry! :)


	2. Pain

Last time: Vegeta revealed that he had another reason for wanting the wish for immortality: he is infected with a life-threatening illness, and Frieza has the only antidote. Krillin and Gohan decided to take him to Bulma...

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Chapter 2: Pain

Bulma was in the middle of a pleasant dream about Yamcha when she was rudely awakened by Krillin shaking her awake. "What?!" she screamed in a voice that would have blown his hair back, if he'd had any. "What is it now? First you run off and leave me here all alone with Kami knows how many evil aliens flying around, and now you come back and don't even have the decency to let me finish my dream, the only nice thing that's happened to me since we got here. I ought to..." her rant was cut off abruptly as she spied Vegeta sitting next to one of the cliff walls. "He's still with you? Why? What the hell's going on around here?"

"Calm down, Bulma," Krillin said, holding his palms out in front of him as if to ward her off. He quickly relayed the situation, finishing with, "... so we need him to stay here with you while we go get the password."

Bulma stamped her foot. "No way! I'm not staying here with that monster!" Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. "He'll probably kill me, or worse..." She grabbed Gohan, who was unlucky enough to be standing closest to her. "I won't do it!" she cried, shaking him. "You hear me? I won't!"

Gohan gently pulled away and jumped back out of her reach. "He's sick, Bulma. He's not going to hurt you. And besides, he promised not to harm any of us if we helped him."

"Hmph. And you believed him?"

"Please, Bulma," Krillin pleaded. "We really need your help on this. He may be our best ally against Frieza until Goku arrives."

Bulma looked over at Vegeta, who had been sitting very still and quiet through the whole exchange, with his head resting on his knees. She crossed her arms and sighed. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"

Krillin smiled. "Thanks, Bulma. Just keep him comfortable until we get back. We shouldn't be too long. Come on, Gohan!" With that, the two Z fighters took off into the air, leaving Bulma alone with the ill Saiyan prince.

For a long while, Bulma simply stood on the opposite side of the camp, watching Vegeta warily. When he made no move to attack, she cautiously moved toward him. As she got closer, she saw that his whole body was shivering. She stopped a few feet away. _What should I do?_ she thought in dismay. _Krillin said to make him comfortable..._ "Hey, do you need anything?" she asked, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. "Some water, a blanket..." her voice trailed off as Vegeta finally raised his head and glared at her.

"Nothing," he growled. "Just leave me alone."

_That's gratitude for you,_ Bulma thought as the Saiyan buried his face in his arms again. _Well, if he doesn't want my help, I certainly won't force it on him!_ She stomped back to her folding chair and sat down, picking up her magazine from the ground. But she soon found herself reading the same paragraph over and over again without comprehending it, so she set it down and started pacing back and forth through the camp. Finally, she sighed and began digging through the supplies that she had uncapsulated earlier.

After pulling out a flashlight, makeup kit, industrial strength hair dryer, and mittens, she finally found what she was looking for--a small air mattress, blanket, and pillow. She tossed the flattened mattress on the ground and pushed the button to inflate it. Vegeta looked up at the sound, but made no other movement. Bulma ignored him, spreading out the blanket and putting the pillow in place. When she was done, she looked over at the prince. "There, you can lie down if you want to, or not, you can sit there on the hard ground for all I care. Do whatever you want." She went back to her chair and pretended to read, but watched the Saiyan out of the corner of her eye.

A few minutes later, she was happy to see Vegeta finally stand up. But, instead of going for the bed, he turned and stumbled out of the ravine, heading toward the edge of the island. "Hey!" Bulma yelled, jumping up and chasing after him. "Krillin said you should stay here!" She stopped short as Vegeta fell to his hands and knees by the water's edge. "Are... are you okay?" she asked, moving up next to him.

"No..." he managed to choke out before retching violently over the side of the small ledge.

Bulma gasped and knelt beside him. Cautiously, she reached out and put her hand on his back, not knowing what else to do. "It's okay, you're gonna be all right," she murmured. That had always been what her mother had said to her when Bulma was ill... not that it seemed to do any good. After awhile, Bulma started to get really worried. She knew that Saiyans--at least Goku and Gohan--ate a lot, but she'd never seen either of them get sick. Vegeta had been throwing up more than she had ever seen anyone do before, and he showed no sign of slowing down or stopping any time soon. After patting him once more on the shoulder, she got up and ran back to the camp. She grabbed a canteen of water and raced back.

By the time she got there, Vegeta's vomiting had progressed to dry heaves. She rubbed his back until his convulsing finally stopped, than handed him the water bottle. He rinsed his mouth out and spat, then swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. He sat back cross-legged on the ground.

"Feel better now?" Bulma asked.

"Not really." Vegeta took a gulp of water, then immediately started coughing.

"Better drink that slowly," she cautioned. "I really don't want you to be sick again."

"Hmph. You think I do?" Vegeta retorted, but took her advice and sipped only a small amount of the cool liquid the next time. After a few swallows, he tossed the canteen back to her and sat with his arms wrapped around his stomach.

Bulma waited a few minutes to make sure that the water would stay down, then stood up. "Come on, we'd better get back out of the open," she said, holding out her hand to help him up. Vegeta ignored it, struggling to his feet under his own power. He made it a few steps toward the camp, then swayed and would have fallen if Bulma hadn't come up beside him and wrapped her arm around his waist to support him. _Men... they're all the same,_ the blue-haired girl thought with exasperation. _Too damn stubborn for their own good._

The Saiyan didn't protest as she led him to the makeshift bed on the ground. Bulma set him down on the edge, then proceeded to take off his gloves, boots, and broken armor. Vegeta appeared to be unaware of what she was doing. His eyes were open, but had a glazed-over look, and seemed to be staring at a point far off in the distance. By the time Bulma got him lying down under the covers, he was shaking uncontrollably, and beads of sweat had collected on his forehead. Bulma got up and rummaged through her things, finally coming back with a small towel. She wet it with water from the canteen, then sat beside the bed and began dabbing at the prince's face and neck. _Hurry back, Krillin and Gohan,_ she thought. _I don't know what else to do here._

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Vegeta had never felt so horrible. He was hot, but couldn't seem to stop shivering. He felt dizzy and nauseous, but he firmly told himself that he was _not_ going to throw up again. He got a small sense of victory as his body seemed to agree with his mind on that point. But the receding queasiness was soon replaced by an almost unbearable agony. He wished that he could sleep... he hadn't slept in days... but the pain prevented it. It was just enough to keep him on the edge of consciousness. He cursed his high tolerance, wishing that he could simply pass out and not feel anything anymore.

It hurt so much... the torture started in his head and abdomen, then radiated throughout his entire body. Every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire, and the waves of agony were becoming steadily worse. He curled into a ball and clenched his teeth, trying not to cry out. Eventually, though, it became too much to bear, and small, involuntary groans began to escape. _Stop it!_ he ordered himself repeatedly. _You don't want to appear weak._ All those thoughts were shortly driven out of his mind by the unrelenting pain, and he soon was past caring anymore.

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Miles away, Krillin suddenly stopped in midair. "Gohan, wait up!" He called. Gohan turned and flew back to his friend.

"What is it, Krillin?"

"I'm having second thoughts about getting the password for Vegeta's wish."

"What?"

"I think there's another way. Why don't we go to Frieza's ship and see if we can find the medicine?"

Gohan looked shocked. "Krillin, that's insane!"

"Is it any more insane than giving a killer like Vegeta eternal life? How do we know he won't just end up worse than Frieza? Sure, he promised he wouldn't hurt anyone on earth, but who knows how may other planets and people he could destroy?"

Gohan nodded. "I think you're right. But shouldn't we go get the password anyway? We'll need it to get our friends back."

"Yes, but we can do that after we get the antidote for Vegeta. We need him well as soon as possible."

"Right." Gohan looked around. "I think the ship is that way," he said, pointing off to his left.

"I agree... I feel a dark power over there. Be extra careful!"

"Let's go!"

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Bulma was at her wits' end. Vegeta had been thrashing about on the bed and moaning for nearly an hour, and she didn't know how to help him. Everything she'd done seemed to be of no use... her only real accomplishment had been to get him to keep some more water down. But she could tell that he was getting worse: his moans had lately been evolving into loud cries of pain. She looked up at the sky. _Oh, Goku, Krillin, Gohan, anybody, come back! I could really use some help here._ The clouds held her attention. They looked so similar to the ones on earth... for a moment, she could almost pretend she was back there, away from this planet and an adventure that had gone horribly wrong. _Why is this happening to me? I should be home, in my nice comfortable house, watching my favorite soaps... it's not fair!_

She was startled out of her revere when Vegeta arched his back and screamed in agony. The Saiyan's eyes were wide open and his fingers clawed at the blanket as the wail went on and on, seeming to barely stop for breath. Bulma clapped her hands over her ears, trying to muffle the horrible sound. She was sure he was dying, right then and there.

Desperate to do something, anything, to help, she crawled onto the mattress beside him and wrapped her arms around his writhing body. She shut her eyes and held on tight, knowing that she was taking her own life into her hands just by being this close to the sick alien. Surprisingly, though, her proximity seemed to help, and within a few minutes (though it felt more like hours to Bulma) Vegeta's screams had quieted to moans, and his convulsions had calmed to small shudders.

Eventually, Bulma let go and rolled off the bed to sit beside it on the ground. _I can't believe I did that! Well, at least it helped, I guess,_ she thought, unconsciously reaching over to take the Saiyan's hand. His fingers involuntarily tightened around her own, and she saw him visibly relax for a few moments before his eyes opened again. He jerked his hand back from her, then rolled away with a groan. Bulma sighed, then went in search of the discarded damp cloth. Finding it, she re-wet it with cool water and placed it on his forehead, then sat back to do the hardest job of all... waiting.

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To Be Continued...

Next time: "Visions" Vegeta begins to hallucinate, seeing people from his past and future. Meanwhile, Krillin and Gohan make an unsettling discovery at Frieza's ship.

A/N: Thanks for all the nice reviews! Keep 'em coming! My review monster has an appetite like Buu's. :) Oh, and I'm still not happy with the title of this story... let me know if you have any ideas!


	3. Visions

A/N: Thanks to all my faithful reviewers!

A-E-W: Pickles?

Veggie's Mate: I tried to do a little more with characterization this time! It's hard for me... since these characters are already developed in the anime, I tend to work harder on keeping them non-OOC than adding more! It's one reason I write fanfic... I can do plots with no problem, but coming up with original characters is a problem!

elbereth in april: Well, I hope this chapter gives you what you wanted! :)

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Last time, Bulma tried her best to help the terribly sick Vegeta, while Krillin and Gohan went to see the Great Elder. However, Krillin changed his mind about letting Vegeta have his wish, and they decided to go to Frieza's ship in order to find the antidote for Vegeta...

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Chapter 3: Visions

Suppressing their ki, Gohan and Krillin landed quietly on a hill overlooking Frieza's circular ship. They crawled to the edge of the cliff and looked down. A group of half a dozen scared-looking soldiers were standing at attention, lined up before a diminutive pink alien.

"That's gotta be Frieza," Krillin whispered, pointing to the horned creature.

Gohan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can feel his power. What's he doing?"

The two crept closer, straining their ears to hear what the tyrant was saying.

"...special mission for me," the little ruler said. "You all are to go and find Vegeta and bring him back here, so that I may find out what he's done with the dragonballs!"

At that, the henchmen turned blue in the face as one, and a few started trembling. One, a blue reptilian creature, was brave enough to speak. "L-Lord Frieza, even all six of us are no match for Vegeta! He'd kill us all just by looking at us."

Frieza glared at him. "Oh-ho, so you're questioning my orders now? We'll just see about that." He raised his arm and pointed at the unlucky underling. A pink ball of energy gathered at his fingertip. "Do I have to make an example of you?"

"No! Please, I'll do as you say..." the creature was cut off as a pink beam pierced his heart. He fell to the ground with a loud thump. The remaining five minions stood even straighter and saluted their master.

Frieza smiled coldly. "He was wrong to doubt me. I don't _always_ send my men on suicide missions. You all should have no trouble at all bringing Vegeta in. Right now he's probably too weak to fight off a Namekian frog, let alone five of my best fighters." He caught the fearfully questioning look that passed between the others and sighed. "Do I have to explain everything to you? Fine. Listen closely." His voice dropped, and the two earthlings had to creep even closer to hear.

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Vegeta still couldn't sleep. The incredible pain had subsided somewhat, at least for the moment, but he knew it would return. As he rolled onto his back, the sky spun crazily above him. He shut his eyes quickly, but was unable to suppress a low moan. The woman sitting beside him made a sound of concern, and he felt her hand come to rest on his forehead. He reached up and brushed it aside impatiently, then turned away from her again, facing the other side of the bed.

As he did so, he was startled to see another person standing a few feet away with their back to him. He blinked his eyes and sat up cautiously on one elbow, trying to get a better look. It was a tall, slender, female... Saiyan? There could be no mistaking the spiky jet-black hair that cascaded down past her knees, contrasting with the skintight blue body suit she wore. A dark brown tail was coiled tightly around her waist. But... but... there were no more Saiyans alive! Who was this? "Hey," he called out, weakly at first, then stronger. "You! Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The Saiyan woman turned toward him, and Vegeta drew a sharp breath. Her deep black eyes seemed to stare right through him, and her delicate, lovely features spoke of high breeding. Frowning, he studied her face more closely. He felt that he'd seen her before, somewhere. She gazed into his eyes for a long moment. Dimly, he heard the blue-haired human behind him, asking what he was doing, but he ignored her, focusing all his attention on the deadly beauty before him.

"Don't you recognize me, Vegeta?" she finally said softly, speaking the High Saiyan tongue. Vegeta gasped. It had been so long since he'd heard anyone speak to him the language of the royal house of his home world! Who was this woman? She spoke again, moving to kneel by his bed. "My name is Celarie."

Recognition finally clicked in Vegeta's mind, and he fell back onto the pillow. He had seen her face before, but only in photographs and news holograms that he'd studied, as a child. He reached out his hand toward her, and whispered a name he'd never before said, to a woman he'd never known:

"Mother..."

Celarie took his hand. "My little prince. What's happened to you?" She reached up and stroked his cheek. "Everything's going to be all right."

For a moment, Vegeta closed his eyes and relaxed under her soothing touch. Realization hit him abruptly, though, and he stiffened and pulled away from her. "This can't be. You're dead! Get away from me!"

"I knew my fate from the moment I was chosen to bear a royal heir," she said, looking slightly sad. "But I was determined to give the king a strong son, even though it meant that I would die."

Suddenly, her face twisted into a nasty sneer, and her voice turned cold. "It looks as though I failed, though. Look at you! You couldn't defeat Frieza, and now you're dying a coward's death. You're not even losing your life in battle!"

Vegeta clenched his teeth. "I will defeat Frieza! I'll become even stronger! I will be the most powerful..."

"Oh, shut up." Celarie stood up and turned away. She walked a few steps away, her tail lashing angrily behind her. Glancing back one last time, she bared her teeth and growled softly. "Weakling," she spat.

The Saiyan prince felt as though he'd been punched in the gut. He closed his eyes briefly and shook his head. "It's not true," he whispered. "It's not true!" he said again, louder, opening his eyes. But the apparition of his mother was gone.

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Krillin and Gohan flew quickly, skimming the tops of the few sparse trees. Not a word passed between the two--the need to travel fast and undetected was paramount. They came to a screeching halt as one of Frieza's henchmen suddenly appeared before them. He stood a good meter over the two earthlings, and his orange, striped fur rippled in the slight breeze as he flashed a feral grin.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the tiger-like creature sneered. "Looks like you two got lost from your class field trip."

"Aw, man!" Krillin groaned. "We don't have time for this!"

The huge soldier growled and flexed his arm, revealing a set of wicked-looking claws. "Oh, I think you do. I'm supposed to be looking for Vegeta, but I might as well warm up on you two." Before he had even finished his sentence, he lunged at Gohan, who easily flipped out of the way. The tiger-beast stopped, apparently taken aback by the quick dodge. "On the other hand, maybe you're working with him." He nodded, seeing the shocked look on Gohan's face. "I'm right, aren't I? Well, you'll just have to tell me where he is, then, won't you?" He struck out again, quickly. Gohan blocked the punch aimed at his face, then kicked out in retaliation.

Krillin sighed. "We _definitely_ don't have time for this," he repeated under his breath before jumping into the fight.

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Bulma sat with her chin resting on her hands, observing the Saiyan prince. His body was wracked by violent tremors, and he gasped or moaned often in pain. A particularly bad convulsion shook him and he cried out sharply, then curled into a ball, still trembling. Bulma automatically reached out her hand to comfort him, but stopped short, knowing that he would just push her away again.

She sighed. Why did she feel so compelled to help this man... no, alien? She knew she should hate him, fear him, anything but _care_ for and _comfort_ him! After all, he had killed many people on earth, including her Yamcha. She would probably be doing the universe a favor if she cute his throat now, while he was here, weak and helpless before her. But she wouldn't--couldn't do something like that! Despite all the reasons she had for despising this... person, she found herself wanting desperately to ease his pain.

It was a strange sensation, not being able to understand her own feelings. She shrugged mentally. Maybe this had something to do with that maternal instinct thing she'd always heard about. Well, she might as well go with it, even though she couldn't comprehend why.

Her resolve strengthened, Bulma reached out again, intent on comforting the ill prince, whether he wanted it or not. As soon as her hand touched his shoulder, Vegeta's eyes snapped open, and he instantly pushed her away, just as Bulma had expected. He glared at her for a moment, then his gaze slid past her, looking over her left shoulder. Immediately, his face lost what little color it had left, and he gasped sharply, scrambling backward on the bed. Bulma whipped her head around, poised to flee from what whatever was behind her that had scared the Saiyan so badly...

But there was nothing there. Bulma sighed yet again. _He must be hallucinating again,_ she thought. _I wonder what--or who--he sees this time?_ She turned back to Vegeta, who was still staring wide-eyed at whatever it was he saw behind her. "Hey!" she shouted, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "There's nothing there! Hey!"

Seeming not to hear her, Vegeta stretched out his hands in front of him in a warding gesture. "N--no! You're not here... you can't be!" he stammered.

"Hey!" Bulma tried again, waving her hand in front of his face. "Snap out of it!"

Vegeta ignored her, sitting up on one elbow and staring past her at whoever it was he was seeing. He appeared to be listening to something for a moment, then covered his face with his hands. "No.... no..." he moaned, then looked up again. "It--it wasn't my fault! I did everything he ever asked me to... everything! He said he'd kill you if I didn't..." his voice trailed off, and he was silent for a long moment, shaking his head in denial.

Bulma gave up on trying to bring him out of his vision, and instead placed her hand gently on his arm. This time, he didn't recoil or push away, but he didn't seem to be aware of her presence either.

"Don't blame me!" Vegeta cried out suddenly. "Father! Please... no... no..." He dropped back down to the pillow and gripped his head tightly, moaning.

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It was almost too much for Vegeta to bear. First seeing his mother, then his father... both despising him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that these were only hallucinations, visions of his own fears, but it still hurt. Having his father blame him for his death and the death of all the Saiyans... it was too much... too much...

Without warning, the nausea returned with a vengeance. Quickly, Vegeta leaned over the side of the mattress, vomiting bile and water onto the ground. He heard the blue-haired girl beside him gasp and jump out of the way, then felt her hand on his back, gently moving in soothing circles. He didn't have the strength to push her away this time, and soon fell back, his head spinning. To ward off the vertigo, he squeezed his eyes shut for a minute.

When he opened them again, he noticed that his surroundings were fading rapidly to black. _What the hell? This planet doesn't have night..._ He blinked a few times to assure himself that he wasn't losing consciousness. No, he was awake... but what was going on? Everything went dark, then a bright light shone above him. This was different from the green light of Namek. It looked almost... artificial. He turned his head to the right, and was surprised to see that he was lying on a tile floor, in what appeared to be a spaceship. Everything seemed slightly distorted and blurred, as if in a dream.

"Vegeta?" he heard a confused voice call from his left. Slowly, he turned his head and saw another familiar form take shape before him.

"Kakarott..."

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To Be Continued...

A/N: Well, I had a little more planned for this chapter, but it was getting a little long anyway, so I decided to go ahead and post it! Let me know what you think!


	4. Revelations

A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! I really didn't mean for it to be this long in between chapters. But with working 2 retail jobs over Christmas, then moving to a new apartment, things have just been too frelled for me to work on fic. But I hope some of my readers are still with me! I didn't mean to make people think I'd stopped writing. I hope it's worth the wait... as always, feedback is appreciated!

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Last time: Vegeta began to hallucinate, seeing people from his past and present, including his mother and father! At the end, he saw his enemy, Kakarott, in what appeared to be a spaceship...

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Chapter 4: Revelations

Vegeta watched through narrowed eyes as his nemesis moved to kneel down by his side. In contrast to the hazy surroundings, he could see the other Saiyan with startling clarity. "Go away, Kakarott," he warned. "You're just another... dream."

Kakarott scratched his head. "Well... if you're dreaming, how come I can see you here?"

Vegeta closed his eyes, not feeling like explaining hallucinations to... well... a hallucination! When he opened them again, he was surprised to see that he was still on the dream-ship, and Kakarott was still beside him, a concerned look on his face. _Ah, what the hell, I might as well play this thing out,_ the prince thought. "Well, Kakarott," he began. "It looks like it's finally happening... what you were too much of a soft-hearted weakling to do before."

"What's happening?"

"I'm dying, idiot! Otherwise I'd be up kicking your sorry ass into oblivion."

The dream-Kakarott looked shocked. "What? Did someone fight you? Are you hurt?"

Vegeta clenched his teeth. "No, I've been denied the honor of dying in battle. This damned illness is..." He broke off with a gasp as a bolt of pain shot through him. He pressed his hands flat against the cold, hard, tile floor, trying to regain control.

Kakarott reached out, stopping just short of touching him. A look of concentration crossed his face for a moment, then he smiled brightly. "You're not dying, Vegeta!" he said happily.

"What?! Moron! How could you possibly tell that?"

The big Saiyan put his hand behind his head and laughed nervously. "I dunno, I just can! You're really weak right now, but you're not dying. You're gonna be OK, I just know it!"

Glaring at his nemesis, Vegeta was about to give another sharp retort when everything began to fade to black again. Desperately, he tried to hold on to this vision. "Wait! Kakarott! Tell me what you mean! Kakarott!" But it was to no avail, and the dream-Kakarott and strange ship dissolved into a dark fog.

After a long moment, Vegeta blinked as his surroundings came back into focus. The rock walls loomed on either side of him, and Namek's green sky gleamed overhead. A warm breeze swept gently through the cavern, ruffling the prince's spiky hair. He shifted his weight, and felt the soft surface conform underneath him. Yes, he was back on the planet, that was for sure. But where... and how...?

For several minutes, he lay still while his mind seethed with anger. How dare Kakarott presume that he knew what was wrong? The fool knew nothing, nothing at all. A part of Vegeta wondered why, exactly, he was so worried about what a _hallucination_ thought. But this vision seemed different somehow... more _real_ in a way, and he couldn't shake the premonition that it was more than what it seemed.

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Several light years away, Goku sat down hard on the space capsule floor. "What was that?" he wondered aloud. He'd just finished a tough 100G workout, and had just turned off the gravity generator when he sensed someone behind him. When he'd turned around, he'd been surprised to see the prince of all Saiyans lying on the floor behind him! After recovering from his initial shock, he'd gone over to talk to the apparition. Vegeta's revelation that he was dying had certainly stunned Goku, but after stretching his senses a bit, he'd tried to reassure his one-time opponent that he would be all right. Sure, the other Saiyan was terribly weak, but Goku was confident that he would eventually recover.

Goku was intrigued by the fact that he'd been able to read Vegeta's condition. He knew he had some sort of latent psychic powers, but had never really tested them until today. Somehow he knew that the Vegeta he'd seen lying on the floor was only a vision of the real one, but that what he'd seen was an accurate representation of what was going on far away on Namek. Frowning, Goku stood up and moved to the navigation console to see if he could coax a little more speed out of the spaceship. He was needed on Namek, and soon.

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Back on the green planed, Vegeta sensed two fairly strong Ki's approaching, even though they were apparently trying to suppress their power. He turned his head and saw the bald human and Kakarott's spawn swoop down and land a few feet away. The cerulean-haired female jumped up. "Took you long enough!" she shrieked.

"Sorry, Bulma," Krillin replied, one hand behind his head. "We ran into a little trouble."

Vegeta struggled up to one elbow. "Well?" he grated. "Did you get the password?"

Both earthlings shuffled their feet and looked at the ground. Vegeta sat up further. "Well?" he repeated, anger twisting his features even further into a scowl than normal.

Several tense moments passed before Krillin finally looked up. "We... we decided not to, Vegeta," he began, obviously nervous.

"You... did... what?!" the Saiyan replied incredulously.

Gohan spoke up quickly. "We went to Frieza's ship instead, to see if we could find your antidote. But we heard Frieza talking..." his voice trailed off as Vegeta shot him a look that would have made a lesser being run screaming in terror.

"Go on," the prince growled, his tone promising death.

Krillin picked up where Gohan had left off. "We heard Frieza telling his men that they wouldn't have trouble fighting you because you'd be..." he halted and swallowed nervously, his eyes darting to his demi-Saiyan friend, seeking support. After a short pause, he took a deep breath and continued. "They wouldn't have trouble because you'd be weakened by withdrawal symptoms."

Finally, Krillin met Vegeta's intense gaze. "It wasn't an antidote he was giving you, Vegeta. It was a drug. He was keeping you addicted to it so you wouldn't betray him... like you did today."

Vegeta sate in stunned silence, no longer paying attention to Krillin as the bald man continued to speak. The words echoed in his head. _Withdrawal... a drug... addicted... betray..._ It all made a twisted sort of sense, now, and he had no doubt that this was the truth. This sounded exactly like a plot the little tyrant would love to create: to control someone with lies... with fear... and with pain. And the truth hurt more than any of the torment he'd endured over the past few hours. His hands clenched into fists, fingernails digging deep enough to draw beads of blood, which quickly pooled and ran in small crimson streams between his fingers.

Why hadn't he seen through the deception before now! He had been fooled, duped like the child he was when Frieza first forced him into service. Like an animal, he'd been trapped and chained, not with steel and cages, but with chemicals and lies. And he'd been stupid enough to trust the doctors! They all said the same thing... that he'd surely die without regular doses of the "antidote." But they had all been physicians hired by Frieza himself. Why hadn't he caught on? The drug must have addled his brain in addition to making his body dependent upon it.

Mentally berating himself, Vegeta was vaguely aware that two of Frieza's henchmen had landed nearby, and were currently fighting with the two earthlings. Shaking himself out of his daze, he watched the battle for a few moments. The others seemed to be holding their own, and even appeared to have the upper hand in speed and overall ki strength. Vegeta winced as the sound of the woman's screaming reached his ears. He turned toward the sound, and saw Bulma hiding behind a nearby boulder, alternately cheering her companions on and screeching in terror when the fight got too close. However, she seemed to be in no real danger, and he quickly ignored her.

With an effort, the Saiyan blocked out the sounds of combat and rolled off the mattress onto his hands and knees. The pain and dizziness rapidly threatened to overwhelm him again, and he clenched his teeth and let his head loll forward until the spell passed. Once he mostly regained his equilibrium, he forced the pain to the side and began to look around for his armor.

Krillin dealt one last kick to his opponent, then finished off the scaly green creature with a powerful ki blast to the head. He felt bad about having to kill, but knew that Frieza's henchmen would destroy them or report their position back to their leader, if allowed to live. Turning to help Gohan, he saw that his friend had already defeated the other underling. He nodded in approval, then looked toward Vegeta. To his surprise, he saw the Saiyan prince fully dressed, sitting on the edge of the air mattress and pulling on his gloves. Krillin took a step toward him, intent on deterring the Saiyan, but Bulma beat him to the punch. Running out from behind the rock where she had been hiding, the blue-haired fireball came to a stop in front of Vegeta and crossed her arms.

"What do you think you're doing?" she shrieked, causing all three males to wince. "You're way too weak to be up yet."

Vegeta looked up at her with narrowed eyes. "I don't have time to be lying around here. Now that I know what Frieza's done to me, I can fight it... and him."

With that, he cautiously stood up. Everything seemed fine for a few seconds, then a sharp lance of pain shot through his entire body, causing him to double over and gasp. He felt Bulma's hand gripping his elbow as the world spun crazily around him. The spell passed relatively quickly, for which Vegeta was grateful. He straightened up slowly, pushing the woman's hand away from him. She began protesting again, but he ignored her, focusing his energy on staying upright and suppressing the pain. He breathed deeply a couple of times, then spoke. "We need to get that password. Since you two didn't do it, I'll have..." He stopped abruptly as he sensed something: distant, but powerful. He looked up at the sky, his eyes wide.

"Wh-what is it?" he heard Gohan ask from behind him. "I sense several powerful ki's..."

"I feel it too," Krillin said, his voice tentative. "Who are they?"

Vegeta tensed as he recognized the energy. He cursed under his breath, then laughed without mirth. "Shit. We're screwed." He met the curious stares of the others. "Now we're all dead. Frieza has summoned the Ginyu Force."

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To Be Continued...

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Next time: The conclusion!

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